1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to on-vehicle display apparatuses, and more specifically to an on-vehicle display apparatus that is capable of displaying information relating to the operation status and information relating to operations of a plurality of apparatuses mounted on a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
On a typical vehicle, various apparatuses such as a navigation apparatus, an audio apparatus (radio, CD, DVD, etc.), an air conditioner, and a communication apparatus for acquiring various information distributed via the Internet are mounted to provide a desirable driving environment. These apparatuses provide various information to a driver at the wheel, and can be controlled as required by operations by the driver. A display unit and an operation switch for showing the operation status of these apparatuses are provided in the vicinity of a driver seat so that the driver can readily recognize the display and perform operations as required.
However, space for providing apparatuses in the vicinity of the driver seat is limited. Thus, it may be that the number of operation units, etc. that can be provided is limited, or the usability of the apparatus operation units is diminished due to the concentration of the apparatus operation units.
In view of the above, a multi-display apparatus has recently become known. In the multi-display apparatus, apparatus operation units are selectively displayed as desired in a large display screen. A function switch disposed in the vicinity of the display screen or a touch switch formed in the display screen, etc., associated with a virtual switch displayed in the display screen, is operated, whereby an associated apparatus is selected, or the content of an operation or the operation status of the apparatus is displayed on the screen. The single multi-display apparatus allows operation and display associated with different types of apparatus, overcoming the disadvantage relating to layout space.
In the multi-display apparatus described above, a function switch, etc. disposed in the vicinity of the display screen, associated with a virtual switch displayed on the display screen, is pressed in order to perform an operation. Thus, the display screen must be disposed within easy reach of the driver at the wheel. At the same time, it is desired that the display screen be disposed as far forward of the driver as possible in a vehicle cabin so that movement of the viewing point of the driver will be minimized between when viewing forward for driving (for recognizing road conditions, etc.) and when viewing the display screen. That is, it is desired that the display screen be disposed as close to the driver as possible in consideration of ease of operation, and at the same time, it is desired that the display screen be disposed as far from the driver as possible in consideration of minimum movement of viewing point, the two conditions being hardly compatible.
As a technique for overcoming this problem, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Application No. 2001-113981 discloses a display apparatus in which a display unit and an operation unit are provided separately. However, according to the technique disclosed in the publication, the display apparatus including the separate display unit and the operation unit is fixed in a vehicle cabin, only in consideration of the convenience of the driver.
Thus, when an occupant in a passenger seat tries to operate, for example, an audio source to listen to music of his/her interest, since the apparatus is laid out only in consideration of the convenience of the driver, the apparatus is not necessarily easy to operate for the occupant in the passenger seat, and display of information relating to operation guidance is not easy to recognize.
Furthermore, according to the conventional art, components of the display apparatus including the operation unit and the display unit are not integrated, and the components are embedded in a console panel in the vehicle cabin as they are. Thus, effective integration of the functions of the components is inhibited, and flexibility in the layout of the components is limited.
The present invention has been made in view of the problems of the conventional art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an on-vehicle display apparatus in which visibility and ease of operation relating to the display of operation guidance are improved both for an occupant in a driver seat and for an occupant in a passenger seat.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an on-vehicle display apparatus in which flexibility in the layout of components is achieved and in which functions are effectively integrated.
To these ends, the present invention, in one aspect thereof, provides an on-vehicle display apparatus connected to a plurality of apparatuses mounted on a vehicle. The on-vehicle display apparatus includes an operation unit including an operation switch for issuing operation instructions selectively to the plurality of apparatuses and an operation detecting unit for detecting the status as to whether an operation is performed by an occupant in a driver seat or by an occupant in a passenger seat; a display unit including a display screen; and a control unit for controlling the display unit according to an operation of the operation unit. The control unit controls the display unit so that an operation guidance screen associated with an apparatus selected from the plurality of apparatuses will be displayed on the driver-seat side of the display screen when it is detected that the occupant in the driver seat is operating the operation unit, whereas the operation guidance screen will be displayed on the passenger-seat side of the display screen when it is detected that the occupant in the passenger seat is operating the operation unit.
Preferably, the operation detecting unit includes an operation key for the occupant in the driver seat and an operation key for the occupant in the passenger seat, the operation key for the occupant in the driver seat being disposed closer to the driver seat and the operation key for the occupant in the passenger seat being disposed closer to the passenger seat.
Also preferably, the operation unit, the display unit, and the control unit are embedded, in the form of an integrated module unit, in a console panel in a vehicle cabin.
The operation detecting unit may be implemented by a non-contact sensor provided in the module unit, detecting motion of the occupant in the driver seat or motion of the occupant in the passenger seat coming closer to the operation detecting unit. The non-contact sensor may be, for example, an infrared sensor attached to the module unit.
Preferably, the control unit may control the display unit so that a map screen associated with navigation will be displayed on the opposite side of the operation guidance screen on the display screen, and the map screen will be moved to the opposite side when the display position of the operation guidance screen is switched.
The control unit may control the display unit so that the operation guidance screen will be displayed semi-transparently. The control unit may control the display unit so that a remaining section other than a display section associated with the content of an operation instruction and function setting status in the operation guidance screen will be displayed semi-transparently.
The operation unit preferably includes a first set of operation keys for selecting an operation mode associated with one of the plurality of apparatuses, and also includes a second set of operation keys for changing an operation instruction and function setting for the operation mode associated with the selected apparatus. The operation modes respectively associated with the plurality of apparatuses include, for example, an air conditioner operation mode, an audio operation mode, and a navigation operation mode. The second set of operation keys may include a haptic operation key.
The on-vehicle display apparatus may further include a speaker for providing information relating to the content of an operation instruction and the function setting status for the selected apparatus.
The present invention, in another aspect thereof, provides an on-vehicle display apparatus connected to a plurality of apparatuses mounted on a vehicle. The on-vehicle display apparatus includes an operation unit including an operation switch for issuing operation instructions selectively to the plurality of apparatuses and an operation detecting unit for detecting the status as to whether an operation is being performed by an occupant in a driver seat or by an occupant in a passenger seat; a display unit including a display screen; and a control unit for controlling the display unit according to an operation of the operation unit. The control unit stores the function setting status set by the occupant in the driver seat and by the occupant in the passenger seat, and controls the display unit so that an operation guidance screen associated with an apparatus selected from the plurality of apparatuses will be displayed on the driver-seat side of the display screen based on the function setting status set by the occupant in the driver seat when it is detected that the occupant in the driver seat is operating the operation unit, whereas the operation guidance screen will be displayed on the passenger-seat side of the display screen based on the function setting status set by the occupant in the passenger seat when it is detected that an occupant in the passenger seat is operating the operation unit.
The control unit may store a category of music set by the occupant in the driver seat or the occupant in the passenger seat.
The control unit may store a category of news set by the occupant in the driver seat or the occupant in the passenger seat.
The control unit may store a temperature on a driver-seat side, set by the occupant in the driver seat, and a temperature on a passenger-seat side, set by the occupant in the passenger seat.
According to an on-vehicle display apparatus of the present invention, the display of an operation guidance screen is switched between a driver-seat side and a passenger-seat side in a display screen, preferably based on the operation of an operation key for an occupant in a driver seat or an operation key for an occupant in a passenger seat. Thus, visibility and ease of operation are improved both for the occupant in the driver seat and for the occupant in the passenger seat.
Furthermore, when an on-vehicle display apparatus of the present invention is implemented entirely in the form of an integrated module embedded in a central part of a console panel, flexibility in layout of components (operation unit, display unit, and control unit) is achieved, and the functions can be effectively integrated.